89th And Broke

I'm a young professional living in Astoria (formerly of Williamsburg, the UES and Murray Hill - I move a lot!). I'm always looking for something fun to do or the best place to grab a drink and dinner at an affordable price around the city.
Have a suggestion? Email me at Laura AT 89thandbroke DOT com.

Latest Subway Reading

Need a book to keep you company on the subway? This is what you can catch me reading!

Cheap Lunch Specials, Drink Deals and Craft Beers – The Brews Brothers Has It All

By Caryn, on October 6, 2010, 7:00 am

I love burgers. I love beer. I love them even more when I get them at a discounted price. That’s why I’m so infatuated with The Brews Brothers on the UES.

The Friday before Labor Day my ex-coworkers all get out of work early, so we wanted to find a place for a cheap lunch and drinks. I walked by The Brews Brothers earlier in the week and noticed a sign advertising $6 lunch combos and $1 drafts until 3 pm. Our decision was made for us.

While there were a few appetizing lunch options, everyone at the table chose the cheeseburger with fries (regular and sweet potato – sweet!), per our waitress’s recommendation. We got there at about 2:45 pm, later than anticipated, so we had 15 minutes to order our lunch and two beers each for a grand (sub)total of $8. Awesome.

Our burgers lived up to the hype and were absolutely delicious. They were enormous too – maybe 1/2 lb – and I only made it a bite or two past the half way point. They also added a bunch of veggies/sides underneath the burger to give it extra flavor. However, I’m usually just a burger, cheese, maybe onion kind of person, so I took out some of the garnish. We also liked the fries and while I typically prefer sweet potato fries, I thought they were a little too thin and crispy for my liking, so I prefered the thicker crinkle cut regular fries (note: I recognize that many people like crispy fries, but they’re just not my style. In my mind the more potato, the better).

We all started off with $1 Bud Lights (I think we only had that as an option, maybe it was Bud or Bud Light), but we were thirsty for more and it was past the 3 pm special cut off. Luckily that was no problem at The Brews Brothers. I don’t believe this is typical, but they were offering every draft beer at half-off all day because they were getting ready to change the line up to add in seasonal beers. And they had some really great beers (with colorful names) to choose from, including Lord Chesterfeild’s Ale, Young’s Double Chocolate, Steven’s Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, Stoudt’s Smooth Hoperator and Mother’s Milk. While that list has surely changed by now, you’ll always find unique craft beers on tap.

Although these craft beers may not always be 1/2 off, there is a happy hour everyday from 11 am – 8pm (Saturdays and Sundays too), offering:

And if you’re dying for $1 pints, stop by on Thursdays from 8pm – 1am (I’m assuming your beer options are limited). Regardless, this is a pretty cheap place and I walked out of there paying $17 total (tax and tip included) for my burger and fries, two $1 pints and two more craft beers at half off. I was very, very happy.

It’s also important to note that our waitress was phenomenal. She was extremely helpful in selecting beers based on our taste preferences and she was just an overall friendly and upbeat person. We all noticed her service and I hope she’s there the next time I go. I can’t comment on the night scene since we were there in the late afternoon/early evening, but I’d be interested to receive feedback on that aspect.

Again, we’re giving you fair warning now that the beers change, the food specials change and the drink specials change, so don’t complain if you don’t have the exact same experience as us. But what we can guarantee is an excellent selection of craft beers, great food (burgers and fries at least), and some specials that are mighty hard to beat in NYC!

The BasicsName: The Brews BrothersLocation: 1571 Second AvenueWho to take: Friends, coworkers, roommatesPrice: With one of the many deals it’s very affordable $Overall:Â It had everything I look for in a bar. 5 stars.